As you have already noticed, never do we use the brute strength of effortless muscle contractions. Effectiveness of a strike depends entirely on accuracy and speed, rather than on strength, as is accustomed to believe today. This kind of a technique allows the practitioner to save energy, rhythm, and move freely.

Believe it or not, tendons and ligaments, making contractions and transferring the efforts, play the leading role in a strike, as well as in any other everyday activity. Muscles, in turn, act as energy repositories, carrying out the role of a camel’s hump, if you will, and supplying tendons and ligaments with energy.

This simple idea lies at the heart of any movement. Selecting a specific limb to perform a single blow is too primitive; all punches and strikes must utilize the whole body. In addition to that, never do we use strength in punches simply for the sake of their fulfilment - strength is just a side effect of a correctly executed technique. The secret to a correct movement lies in its naturalness. Naturalness is important in everything - in motion, in thought, in lifestyle. be natural and nothing will be able to knock you down.

You may ask - So why do we need this strength? It is actually needed not for showing off before your friends, or in order to show- case your superiority. Its necessity is in prolongation of life and in health. Don’t waste energy unnecessarily – it’s like the charge in the battery. Only this battery - is you.

As you can see, the principle of body strengthening in martial arts is very thorough; all we need to do is properly apply and follow it. The result is going to be good health in addition to a harmoniously developed body. One very important detail - this principle applies not only to physical activity of man but also to his reasoning.

Martial arts – primarily is the ability to defeat a superior in strength enemy by wielding technical advantage. It is obvious that the modern approach, which emphasizes power, is fundamentally wrong from the traditional point of view. Strength is indisputably needed, though it doesn’t play the main role.

Technical advantage is achieved through the integrated approach to training process. In order to significantly increase efficiency of movement: such qualities as coordination, flexibility, speed, and strength must all be equally developed.

In carrying out the technical elements, coordination of the whole body improves; you don’t just practice the technique, you train the whole body, you work all the muscles. Correctly composed train- ing routine leads to the improvement in physical conditions as well as to the increase of strength, which all of us value so much. The correct training method leads to the correct way of thinking - you sweep aside everything extraneous, leaving only the most important, that, which makes you better. There’s no need to be afraid, in- stead put the insolent slacker inside of you in his place. Why even give him a chance?

The Missing Piece
property of Golden Dragon's Kungfu School
author Valery Prosvirov